The President of the Fields in Trust, Jill Scott MBE, has headed to Parliament to launch the results of new YouGov polling commissioned by organisation to better understand public mood at a critical moment for the UK’s green spaces.

The President met with Parliamentarians to discuss the findings and make the case for stronger green space protections in the UK.

To lose these spaces would not just deny young people access to grassroots sports, but take away their enjoyment of the physical, mental, and social benefits that only time outdoors, away from screens and modern pressures, can provide.

The polling shows that people in Britain almost unanimously believe that green spaces are key in encouraging children to spend less time on digital devices, proving that they are essential tools in tackling the pressures facing young people today.

The YouGov survey findings reveal the scale of public concern around this issue:

• 77% of UK adults are concerned about the loss of playing fields and community sports grounds in the UK to housing or commercial developments
• Only 18% of people think the Government is doing enough to protect playing fields and community sports grounds in the long term
• 79% of people think that planning permission should not be granted to build on green spaces without a good reason
• 86% of people believe that it should be a legal requirement for all new housing developments to create accessible green spaces for residents
• 93% of people think green spaces are important for encouraging young people to spend less time on digital devices

The results show strong public support for the protection of the UK’s playing fields and green spaces, revealing a stark gap between current Government planning proposals and public expectations.

The Government is currently proposing significant changes to the Planning System in England in its efforts to speed up house building. This includes sweeping changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which guides decisions on what gets built where, as well as the potential removal of Sport England’s statutory consultee status in planning decisions affecting playing fields.

Jill Scott said: “I’ve spent my whole career playing sport outdoors, so I know first-hand how vital these spaces are to communities across the country.

“I’m alarmed by proposals that would weaken the protections around them and our polling shows the British public are too. Grassroots sport needs grass to thrive, but protecting green spaces is about more than sport: it’s about ensuring every community has somewhere to go outside, that children have places to play away from digital devices.

“We’re not standing in the way of building the homes and infrastructure this country needs. We’re just asking that playing fields and green spaces are given proper weight in planning decisions, so that as communities grow, they do so in places where people genuinely want to live.”

Helen Griffiths, Chief Executive of Fields in Trust, added that the public’s message to policymakers could not be clearer.

“Green spaces matter, and people expect them to be protected by the law,” she explained. “These results should be a wake-up call for the Government. We are at a pivotal moment. The planning reforms being considered right now will shape our national landscape for generations to come.

“We’re incredibly proud of our legacy and the 3,000 spaces we’ve protected, ensuring that 9 million people will always have a green space within a short walk of home. Current planning policy is not robust enough to guarantee that right for everyone. We need to make sure that our existing spaces are better protected and are calling on the Government to retain Sport England’s statutory consultee status to support that. But we also need to head off future problems and make sure that new housing is created with sufficient green space to meet the needs of the community by adhering to the Fields in Trust Standards referenced in planning policy.”

Find out more about proposed changes to statutory consultees in the planning system and read the recent open letter, led by Jill Scott MBE.